... So that's what I did today (21/12/15) as both a break from teaching and also to get back to how I used to bag trains when I didn't own a car. After my previous journey to visit he Borders Railway (see report) I realised that I couldn't really go through all that driving when the reward was just one station, plus the tiredness etc..
I started the day by getting the first train out of Wigan (North Western), the 0545 Virgin Train to Tamworth. RTT shows that the Northern Rail train that was in the bay platform is actually the first but I think this may only be an unannounced service to St Helens Central so I need that clarified.
I didn't mind the early rise and was surprised that I hadn't yet had a nap in the hour it took us to reach Tamworth, slightly impeded by some disruption at Colwich Junction. At Tamworth, I found I had 50 minutes to avoid the extortionate station cafe prices and perambulated the town centre before the woman at Greggs giving me a more direct route back which I followed with sausage barm and latte in hand.
I waited at platform 4 for the Cross Country diesel-loco hauled 0750ish train to Plymouth direct to Exeter. This is my first experience of slam door stock to date which I enjoyed, was tempted to poke my head out of the window at times.
The XC train sped through to Brum but then was stuck behind a local train up until Barnt Green and after a very slow descent of the Lickey Incline (another first for me) there was another slow down through the Bromsgrove replacement (I won't visit this in future as it is only a re-siting as is Rochester). Beyond Bromsgrove the train opened up and made to Bristol fairly quickly but was held up by another local train into Temple Meads.
Continuing on the XC, I was looking at my watch as I was flabbergasted how quickly Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Tiverton and Exeter were reached, in approximately 15 minute intervals. I think I chose wisely to take the train to get to Cranbrook.
I disembarked at Exeter St Davids and walked over the footbridge to take a gWr service up to Central. I've never seen such an incline between two stations! Alighting here I had a stroll around Exeter town centre as I waited for the SWT service to return from it's stable near Cowley Bridge. I went to the Guildhall(?) shopping centre to use the facilities and returned to the station to look at the gWr timetables and take away the map as a poster for home.
I think the SWT train was the 1130 one or it arrived about 1130. Cranbrook was reached pretty quickly. From Google Maps it was hard to gauge how far away it is from Exeter. About 15 people disembarked at Cranbrook and walked or were picked up to be taken down the approach to the housing development that is still developing as of this morning. Some teenage girls were waiting at the platform, either to shelter from the rain, to wait for the 1229 back to Exeter or to loiter. Here I noticed a security vehicle patrolling around. I'm not sure why it is necessary for a patrol around what seems like a lovely area but I have no local knowledge about the area.
I followed the flock into Cranbrook as I rounded the corner, I was stunned that when I was last in Cranbrook in my car, that I had I tried to follow the road in darkness and to an unknown level of completion, I was only 150m from the platform and sign! Still, today was a good, if overcast day.
Cranbrook 'High Street' consists of a Co-Op, two takeaways, pharmacy and a primary school as far as I can tell. It also has a bus service to Honiton and Exeter amongst others and the Exeter service was there a moment after I was at the bus stop. What good timing!
The traffic heading into Exeter chewed into the gains I had made over waiting for the SWT train back at Cranbrook but I did arrive at the platform 10 minutes early for the 1250 XC service to Manchester Piccadilly. I would sit on the train until 1657. Dear God lol!
I didn't have enough time to purchase from Pumpkin as the queue was not in my favour. There were no available sandwiches on the train so I had to console myself with a packet of crisps and a latte. I whiled away the journey back up north looking at the views: The Exe really high at Cowley Bridge, the sodden land around the Parrett in Bridgwater, the urban array of developments including some unusual habitats in a small depression near Stapleton Road, the army of orange punctuating my inbound and outbound journey, the electrified depot currently disconnected at Bristol Parkway, the Malverns, the Camp Hill line (that one from Kings Norton direct to New Street), the Norton Bridge Flyover and speeding through Stone, Kidsgrove,
Congleton and Cheadle Hulme.
Arrived two mins late into Piccadilly. I had pizza at The Mayfield upstairs after having a little look at the Northern Quarters hipster offerings and not finding anything that screamed creature comforts unfortunately. I jumped on the 1816 Bolton Northern service at Piccadilly, switched at Salford Crescent to complete my journey back to Wigan Wallgate this time.
Thanks to bb21 for giving me a sub-£100 option which made today possible.
Stations used:
Wigan North Western
Tamworth
Exeter St Davids
Exeter Central
Cranbrook <- No. 2561!!!!!
Manchester Piccadilly
Shudehill (Metrolink)
Salford Crescent
Wigan Wallgate
Elapsed time: 14hrs 10 minutes
Journey Length: 545 miles
Ticket costs (16-25 discounted): £87 (train) + £3.30 (bus) = £90.30
Approx 6.5 miles per £1
I started the day by getting the first train out of Wigan (North Western), the 0545 Virgin Train to Tamworth. RTT shows that the Northern Rail train that was in the bay platform is actually the first but I think this may only be an unannounced service to St Helens Central so I need that clarified.
I didn't mind the early rise and was surprised that I hadn't yet had a nap in the hour it took us to reach Tamworth, slightly impeded by some disruption at Colwich Junction. At Tamworth, I found I had 50 minutes to avoid the extortionate station cafe prices and perambulated the town centre before the woman at Greggs giving me a more direct route back which I followed with sausage barm and latte in hand.
I waited at platform 4 for the Cross Country diesel-loco hauled 0750ish train to Plymouth direct to Exeter. This is my first experience of slam door stock to date which I enjoyed, was tempted to poke my head out of the window at times.
The XC train sped through to Brum but then was stuck behind a local train up until Barnt Green and after a very slow descent of the Lickey Incline (another first for me) there was another slow down through the Bromsgrove replacement (I won't visit this in future as it is only a re-siting as is Rochester). Beyond Bromsgrove the train opened up and made to Bristol fairly quickly but was held up by another local train into Temple Meads.
Continuing on the XC, I was looking at my watch as I was flabbergasted how quickly Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Tiverton and Exeter were reached, in approximately 15 minute intervals. I think I chose wisely to take the train to get to Cranbrook.
I disembarked at Exeter St Davids and walked over the footbridge to take a gWr service up to Central. I've never seen such an incline between two stations! Alighting here I had a stroll around Exeter town centre as I waited for the SWT service to return from it's stable near Cowley Bridge. I went to the Guildhall(?) shopping centre to use the facilities and returned to the station to look at the gWr timetables and take away the map as a poster for home.
I think the SWT train was the 1130 one or it arrived about 1130. Cranbrook was reached pretty quickly. From Google Maps it was hard to gauge how far away it is from Exeter. About 15 people disembarked at Cranbrook and walked or were picked up to be taken down the approach to the housing development that is still developing as of this morning. Some teenage girls were waiting at the platform, either to shelter from the rain, to wait for the 1229 back to Exeter or to loiter. Here I noticed a security vehicle patrolling around. I'm not sure why it is necessary for a patrol around what seems like a lovely area but I have no local knowledge about the area.
I followed the flock into Cranbrook as I rounded the corner, I was stunned that when I was last in Cranbrook in my car, that I had I tried to follow the road in darkness and to an unknown level of completion, I was only 150m from the platform and sign! Still, today was a good, if overcast day.
Cranbrook 'High Street' consists of a Co-Op, two takeaways, pharmacy and a primary school as far as I can tell. It also has a bus service to Honiton and Exeter amongst others and the Exeter service was there a moment after I was at the bus stop. What good timing!
The traffic heading into Exeter chewed into the gains I had made over waiting for the SWT train back at Cranbrook but I did arrive at the platform 10 minutes early for the 1250 XC service to Manchester Piccadilly. I would sit on the train until 1657. Dear God lol!
I didn't have enough time to purchase from Pumpkin as the queue was not in my favour. There were no available sandwiches on the train so I had to console myself with a packet of crisps and a latte. I whiled away the journey back up north looking at the views: The Exe really high at Cowley Bridge, the sodden land around the Parrett in Bridgwater, the urban array of developments including some unusual habitats in a small depression near Stapleton Road, the army of orange punctuating my inbound and outbound journey, the electrified depot currently disconnected at Bristol Parkway, the Malverns, the Camp Hill line (that one from Kings Norton direct to New Street), the Norton Bridge Flyover and speeding through Stone, Kidsgrove,
Congleton and Cheadle Hulme.
Arrived two mins late into Piccadilly. I had pizza at The Mayfield upstairs after having a little look at the Northern Quarters hipster offerings and not finding anything that screamed creature comforts unfortunately. I jumped on the 1816 Bolton Northern service at Piccadilly, switched at Salford Crescent to complete my journey back to Wigan Wallgate this time.
Thanks to bb21 for giving me a sub-£100 option which made today possible.
Stations used:
Wigan North Western
Tamworth
Exeter St Davids
Exeter Central
Cranbrook <- No. 2561!!!!!
Manchester Piccadilly
Shudehill (Metrolink)
Salford Crescent
Wigan Wallgate
Elapsed time: 14hrs 10 minutes
Journey Length: 545 miles
Ticket costs (16-25 discounted): £87 (train) + £3.30 (bus) = £90.30
Approx 6.5 miles per £1
